What would WTO terms mean for the UK's financial services industry?
How developed are the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) financial services provisions? How could the limitations of WTO rules for financial services be addressed? What kinds of restrictions are not permitted in the financial services sector under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)?
These are among the questions the House of Lords EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee will be asking two witnesses on Wednesday 13 March 2019.
Giving evidence to the Committee at 10.15am will be:
- Dr Lorand Bartels, Senior Counsel, Linklaters LLP and Reader in International Law, University of Cambridge
- Eric White, Consultant, Herbert Smith Freehills.
Other questions they are likely to face include:
- What are the EU's specific commitments for financial services under the GATS?
- Is there any appetite for strengthening and expanding the provisions in the GATS?
- Some of the EU's free trade agreements (FTA) require concessions on services to be extended to other countries with whom the EU has an FTA. Could this restrict the EU's ability to grant UK-based services and service suppliers greater market access?
- Could a lack of EU equivalence decisions for the UK be challenged under the WTO for not adhering to the Most Favoured Nation clause?
This evidence session, which is open to the public, will take place from 10.15am on Wednesday 13 March 2019 in Committee Room 4A of the House of Lords.
